Those in Between
by DarqueDeath4444
Summary: Sakura, a survived experiment, has skin that releases poison. To hide her from ROOT, she is taken in by Jiraiya and now acts as messenger for him and his spies. On a mission to find Tsunade Sakura meets Sasuke-the brother of a particular spy who pets her hair and buys her dango. Born to obey, she must take initiative for the first time in her life to save the people she cares for.
1. Prologue

**So, new year update...Here's the new story we've been dropping hints on left and right in all our stories...enjoy...**

 _ **PROLOGUE**_

There is a tense atmosphere in the air.

A young man stands by the window, eyes, dulled by the years and all the blood and death they had witnessed, overlooking Konoha-gakure no sato.

"The last of Orochimaru's known bases have been cleared." He says, then turns to gauge the reaction of the two others in the room.

A man looks up from the scroll he had been writing in. "Minato-kun, was the girl the only survivor?" He asks.

"She was." The Hokage, Namikaze Minato, replies.

A low mournful growl made its way out of the older's lips.

"I know." Minato's voice is heavy. "She was carried in in critical condition and is currently recovering in the hospital." He turns to the blonde beside him, who nods.

"We managed to stabilize her with a lot of trouble; her vitals were a mess, probably due to the machine she was attached to being suddenly cut off." She says.

"Can't that stupid ROOT thing do anything right?" He blinks at the pointed glare he receives. "You know it's true, Tsunade-chan."

Senju Tsunade sighs and turns back to the Hokage. "Have we gotten anything out of her?" She asks.

"She's awake?" The older man turns to her.

"This morning." Tsunade replies.

Minato shakes his head in answer to Tsunade's question. "She hasn't spoken since her arrival."

Tsunade frowns. "There is nothing wrong with her vocal chords." She says. "She sleeps just fine but we haven't gotten her to eat anything yet."

"I thinks it is a mental thing." Minato sighs. "If she remains unresponsive, I will ask Yamanaka-san to look at her."

Tsunade's gaze darkens. "Also, Danzo wants her handed over. He stormed into the hospital earlier today."

Minato closes his eyes in worry. "This was raised in meetings too."

"But what's going to happen to her?" She presses. "It'll be very dangerous for her here. The clutches of Danzo is the last place she should be. Who knows what she's been through."

The Hokage nods. "That is true" He says. "While she is currently too young and too injured, the moment she is considered better, Danzo will push harder to stuff her into the ranks of ROOT." His eyes darken a little. "Her abilities, while artificial, are something we have never encountered."

The older man puts down his brush to give the young blond his full attention. He runs a hand through his white hair and sighs. "I'll take her."

Both Tsunade and Minato turn to look at him and he plasters on an expression of hurt. "What? That's why you called us, right?"

Minato sighs and Tsunade chuckles. "Seems like you aren't a complete idiot." She says.

Minato speaks up before he can protest. "This is a huge responsibility. Are you sure?"

"Well, one of us has to take her and Tsunade-chan just got her first apprentice, right? You'll be busy with Shizune-chan." He grins. "Besides, if she's as cute as you say-" He sees the threatening fist being raised and quickly waves his hands. "No no no! I didn't mean it that way!" He says and clears his throat. "Anyways, she might turn out to be...useful in my line of work too."

The Hokage's eyes him for a while longer before he nods and hands him a file with a few photos attached to it. He takes it and narrows his eyes at the picture.

"I've heard rumors but Orochimaru really went overboard with this one." He comments.

Tsunade sighs and her fingers grasp at the air, as though she is picturing a bottle of sake. "Couldn't have said that better."

"While it is not something she can control at will, we cannot have her running around freely." The blond male says. "Perhaps traveling with you will give her a little freedom."

The older man eyes the girl in the photo.

She couldn't have been more than five, the same age as his nephew. The one in his hand is most likely the one Orochimaru used when recording experiment results. He turns to the other one, this time taken in Konoha hospital. The girl is lying on the bed and while sheets cover the bottom half of her body, he can easily pick up a few things.

First, her eyes are a eerie, piercing green. And yet, they appear soulless.

Second, her hair is a vibrant pink. It brings out the empty look in her eyes.

Third, she is wrapped in bandages. Apart from her eyes and strands of her hair, not a single part of her body is visible.

"Direct contact with her is deadly." Minato says. "We don't know what Orochimaru did to her but her skin releases and is constantly coated with a dangerous poison that withers flowers in seconds and would probably kill people after a few minutes of agonizing pain."

"Hence the bandages." He says.

"Normal bandages were instantly burned through. Those bandages were created by me as temporary measures." Minato runs a defeated hand through his hair. "Perhaps you could adjust them with stronger seals."

He tries to put on a convincing grin and nods.

"I tried to analyse the poison." Tsunade says. "But it's very potent and all traces vanish a few seconds after it loses contact with her skin. I've never come across it and if I had to say, I'd say it's properties were altered from what it was originally by the girl's body."

There is an empty feeling in his stomach. "A girl that will never be able to enjoy direct human contact." He frowns and his heart clenches. "That is just so...sad."

"I will see if there is an antidote or anything that can help." Tsunade offers. "But without the ingredients, I can't promise anything." She sighs.

"You think I can see her?" He asks.

Tsunade nods slowly. "She doesn't seem to have an internal clock." She says. "She wakes up when she does and sleeps when she does." Her eyebrows furrow. "Her body has been messed with to the point it doesn't have most of the instincts humans are born with." She raises a finger, eyes dark. "She has one, though, want to guess?"

"Uh...hunger?" He asks.

Tsunade shakes her head. "She eats anything given to her at anytime." She says. "Or if we don't give her anything, nothing at all." She watches his frown deepen and sighs softly. "She flinches at the smallest actions. That among a few others. Do you know what that means?"

He narrows his eyes. "Can I come by tomorrow?" He repeats.

Tsunade throws her hands up but nods. "During visiting hours."

He turns back to the Hokage and grins. "Anyways, like I said, I'll take her."

Minato's eyes soften and he nods firmly.

"Very well. I shall leave her to you, Jiraiya-sensei."

* * *

 **You know the drill people...right?**

 **Review if you like :)**

* * *

 _ **Darque: So, we decided on a traumatized Sakura who is a shell of her innocent past self who was raised to be an emotionless soldier.**_

 **Raven: And hope it was obvious we will be going about this in present tense.**

 _ **Darque: Anyways, like we said earlier, please review if you liked it.**_

 **Raven: It will certainly give us the motivation to kick start this story.**

* * *

 **Happy New Year~**

 **(** **If it's a little early, re-read later :) If it's late, here's a belated New year greeting.)**

 **We hope you all have had a good 2016 and will have a bright year ahead.**

 **We thanks you for your continuous support and we hope you continue to read and review our stories.**

* * *

 **Read and Review~**


	2. Chapter 1

_**Chapter ONE**_

Jiraiya enters the hospital room accompanied by Tsunade and Shizune, Tsunade's own apprentice. Apart from the younger woman, who technically falls under 'medic', everyone else is Tokubetsu-Jounin or higher in rank. He can sense at least half a dozen ANBU hiding around the room and as he nods to acknowledge the Tokubetsu-Jounin who had led him there, he thinks this is overkill.

Especially when he moves the curtains surrounding the bed and his gaze lands on the doll like girl lying on the bed, not even twitching. Jiraiya frowns at the chakra suppression restraints around her wrists and ankles and the tracker collar around her neck.

She isn't straining or struggling. All in all, she looks dead.

"She's uh...alive, right?" He asks sheepishly.

Tsunade rolls her eyes exasperatedly. "Of course." She says. "You're starting to make me regret agreeing to leave her to you."

Jiraiya's eyes flicker to her eyes and has to strain to see the rise and fall of her chest. "Uh...right." He glances around. "Can I have Minato-kun's notes?" He takes the notepad offered out to him and inspects the seal Minato had incorporated into her bandages. "He made it an absorbing type?" He notes to himself.

"If Tsunade-sama can make some sort of breach with the antidote, he said he could adjust it to make the poison vanish upon leaving her skin." Shizune explains. "But at this point, this is all he can do."

Jiraiya nods to himself. "That's kinda true...I'll add a reaction seal, so we'll know when the bandages are at their limit...maybe a self destruction seal after she takes them off so no one has to touch them?"

Tsunade whacks him over the head in what he think she thinks in a light tap but is actually a punch. "Not entirely useless, I see." She says.

"I will be if you keep punching me." This time, he receives a stronger punch. "Okay okay, sorry."

Tsunade huffs.

Jiraiya sighs and rubs at the bump on his head. "Are you planning to leave after this?"

Tsunade pauses in her act of reaching for the girl's file and nods firmly. "This was an emergency." She says curtly. "I'll be leaving when you set off."

Jiraiya sighs but does not press the topic they have gone through a countless number of times. "Okay."

Tsunade turns, deeming the conversation over. "Do you want her file?" She asks.

Jiraiya shakes his head. "I probably won't get a thing written there." He says, then remembers something. "Actually-" He leaned over to look at the file again. "So it wasn't me..."

"What?" Tsunade asks.

"We kept calling her," Jiraiya gestures as the restrained girl on the bed "'Her'. Does she have a name?"

Tsunade shakes her head. "Not at this point." She says. "We haven't gotten that out of her yet, though I doubt she'll have an actual name."

Jiraiya winces. "So like, can I name her?"

Tsunade's eyes flash dangerously. "If you name her after one of your porn characters, I will shove that book of yours-"

"I won't! Really!" Jiraiya frantically waves his hands as Tsunade advances. "I won't! I-I-uh-yeah! I'll name her now and you can see, okay? Um, I-Kimi-WAIT-I didn't mean that-Uh-Ha-no-uh-Sa-right-Sakura! She's Sakura. Sakura's safe, right?"

Tsunade pauses but after one last threatening fist clench, she draws back. "I guess that's acceptable."

"It fits her." Shizune chirps helpfully.

Tsunade snorts and replaces Sakura's folder in its holder above the headboard. "Well, I guess we'll leave you here for a while." She says."

"Uh, right." Jiraiya waves over his shoulder then takes a seat on the chair beside the girl's bed. He looks up when Tsunade and Shizune leave alongside their Tokubetsu-Jounin escort. "Hey, can you hear me?" He asks.

The girl blinks once before her eyes move mechanically to look at him.

"I'm Jiraiya." He says, grinning. "Jiraiya the great toad Sannin." He realizes that she probably has no idea what that is and he rushes on. "I'll be taking care of you from now on. I think." He adds, because he is beginning to sound out of character. "Do you have a name?"

There is no reply but he decides to take that as a no; he is beginning to like the sound of 'Sakura'. "Then I'll call you Sakura, okay?"

The girl blinks but apart from that, she doesn't acknowledge him.

Jiraiya resists the urge to sigh. "Well, I'll give you think to think over it." The silence continues and wanting to give himself something to focus on, he quickly flips through his seal notes. "We can take this slowly." He says quietly, half to the girl and half to himself.

The girl does not twitch even a limb.

* * *

Jiraiya remains there for the rest of the day. While there are visitor hours, he has permission to stay for as long as he wishes. This is a special case, after all.

A nurse brings in a tray of food Jiraiya knows to be easy on the stomach. "She doesn't eat." She tells him. "We've been injecting her with the minimum nutrients required for the healing process but it might be bad if she doesn't start injecting physical food soon."

Once she is gone, Jiraiya puts down his seal-planning pad and grabbing the plate, he leans in towards the girl away. "You heard the nurse, Sakura-chan. You gotta eat soon, or you won't be able to adventure with the awesome me."

Her eyes flash in his direction for a split second and encouraged, Jiraiya presses on. "You'll get better sooner and we can get those restraints off of you, yeah?"

The pinkette stares at him with those haunting eyes of hers. The bandages around her mouth shift just a little and Jiraiya leans in encouragingly. There have been a couple of times where a similar thing had happened, like the girl had wanted to speak, before she had changed her mind.

He holds out the plate a little closer and from the way she twitches just a little, knows she wants it.

Finally, after a few more minutes of silence, the girl looks down. "What...do I have to do?" She whispers. Her voice is husky and a little cracked, as though she hadn't used it in ages.

Jiraiya frowns, confused. "Huh?"

"The food. What do I have to...do for it?"

It takes Jiraiya a second to register this in his brain and his anger once again surges. The implications are obvious and while Jiraiya has no idea what the living conditions for this girl has been up to this point, he really wants to gut the person who did this to her. He holds back for the girl's sake, though. The pinkette eyes are hooded, as though to protect herself from meeting his gaze. She is glancing swiftly between his hand and the plate, shoulders drawn up in an instinctive way to protect her throat.

It is then Jiraiya notices how underfed she must be to not show hunger after days of not eating and suddenly feels guilty for baiting her like this.

"Nothing." He says, voice uncharacteristically gentle. "It's yours." He places it within arms length of her, so that he does not have to get too close. He then leans back into his chair.

Green eyes glance at him warily and her hand flashes out, drawing the plate towards herself. "I don't have any money." She says weakly. "Money is the main method of payment, right?"

Jiraiya firmly shakes his head. "I don't want anything in return." He tells her. "It's yours. Eat as much as you want. If it isn't enough, I can get you more."

The girl quickly shakes her head. "This is more than sufficient." She says.

They sit in silence while the girl picks the food apart with her fingers and nibbles on the minuscule pieces.

"You don't have to force yourself." He tells her. "Tell me when you're done, Sakura-chan."

The girl curls in on herself a little and tilts her head up a little. "Sakura...?" She asks.

Jiraiya sheepishly grins. "Well, we didn't know your name and...yeah. Unless you have one?"

"My name..." The girl's voice is quiet, like she is testing out the words. "My name is...Sakura."

Jiraiya plasters on a smile but on the inside, it is as though someone is squeezing his chest. He will give the girl to restart, though, and he will give her what has obviously been deprived of her. "Well, Sakura-chan," He grins. "Eat up."

 **Here's chapter two~**

 **Just a note; 'First Time to see the World' has been completed (Our second complete story, yay~) If you haven't checked it out, please do so :)**

 **Our most 'First Chapter follows' as of yet (120, one more review than 'The Gift of Sight' Chapter one first time round:)).**

 _ **Darque: A little Sakura/Jiraiya bonding...not much...but yeah.**_

 **Raven: I wouldn't really call it bonding.**

 _ **Darque: Oh? What would you call it then?**_

 **Raven: Uh...buildup-to-bonding-bonding?**

 _ **Darque: I guess that works.**_

 **Raven: It does?**

 _ **Darque: Yup. Anyways, we first thought about having a time skip to get straight into the main sotry part thing but we then changed our mind and decided to include a little back story first.**_

 **Raven: It is sometimes difficult to include backstory as the main part.**

 _ **Darque: Mmhmm.**_

 **Raven: Well...yeah.**

 **Read and Review~**


	3. Chapter 2

_**Chapter TWO**_

When Tsunade enters the room the next morning, Jiraiya is pleased to say that she appears to be more surprised than he has ever seen in a long time when he presents to her the empty cup and tray the nurse had brought last night.

"She ate?" She asks.

Sakura's eyes had flashed open the moment Tsunade had entered the corridor leading to her room and now, while still under the safety of the covers Jiraiya had covered her with, she simply lies there, eyeing the woman, careful as ever not to meet her gaze. Jiraiya remembers that this is a very common habit for her and adds it onto the list of things he wants to bring her out of.

"Of course." He says proudly. "There is nothing I, the amazing Jiraiya, cannot accomplish."

Tsunade rolls her eyes but takes the tray without delivering a single punch and hands it to a nurse. Jiraiya grins.

"Anyways, Sakura-chan, this is Tsunade, the crazy old lady who-" This time, said Senju lands an elbow to his rib, with just enough strength to send him flying but a little short of sending him through the wall.

Sakura lets out a soft gasp that catches both their attentions and the girl flinches under the sudden scrutiny.

"Uh, right, yeah, Sakura-chan, Tsunade. Tsunade, Sakura-chan." He smiles reassuringly at the girl, who was slowly curling in on herself as Tsunade's eyes scan over her. "She might seem scary but she's nice. She was the one that healed you."

Sakura's eyes widens a little and she slowly sits up. "I'm sorry." She says. "I don't have any money."

Tsunade shoots Jiraiya a look and he quickly signals that he would tell her later. Tsunade nods then shakes her head. "I'm a medic, Sakura." She says. "It's my job to heal people."

Sakura's eyes clear a little and she blinks. "You're like me, then." She says.

Jiraiya wants to ask her what she means but the girl is already tuning out of the conversation. She has done that a couple of times.

"I'll be going out to, uh, get you more food." Jiraiya says. I'll be right back, okay?"

Sakura's head shoots up at this and she nods stiffly.

Tsunade follows him out and carefully closes the door. "Explain." She demands.

Jiraiya nods and follows the Senju when she begins making her way towards the canteen. "She said that to me too." He tells her. "When I offered her food. Everything is an exchange for her."

"At least she's talking now." Tsunade says softly.

"Yeah. And eating."

Tsunade sighs. "What was Orochimaru thinking?"

Jiraiya glances over at his teammate and says nothing.

* * *

After a thorough examination, Tsunade orders another four days in the hospital for Sakura. Jiraiya does not complain, because it gives him plenty of time to try and get Sakura open up. He knows it will not be easily and that it will take a long time, but Jiraiya finds that he does not mind.

The next day, Tsunade comes back Minato on her heels. Sakura seems hesitant at first, but the Hokage's easygoing smile seems to do something to her, because she loosens up a little.

"Can you tell me anything about before you came here, Sakura-chan?" Minato asks.

Sakura glances over at Jiraiya before she glances down at her hands again. "I'm sorry, I don't know anything." There is a quiver in her voice.

Minato quickly catches on and his smile widens. "No need to apologize." He says. "Do you remember anything? Anything is fine."

"A metal box." Sakura tells him. "Orochimaru-sama said it was my home."

"A metal box?"

"It was...small." Sakura made a hand gesture to hint at the size. "And was made of poles."

"A cage." Tsunade whispers quietly.

Minato nods. "Did you see Orochimaru often?"

Sakura flinches. "He came by often." She says. "He said I was a...a master piece."

"How about the day the day of the attack?" Minato asks.

Sakura flinches again. "Orochimaru-sama wasn't there. The men in black came in and broke down the door of the box." She looks back down at her hands, like she always does when she is nervous. "I told them not to touch me, but they did. I told them, but..."

Jiraiya remembers the injuries of the team that had brought Sakura back to Konoha. A few of them had had almost unrecognizable injuries on their limbs.

Sakura's poison was strong enough to melt through skin, muscle, and even _bone_.

Tsunade seems to have been thinking of the same thing, because she is the one to ask the next question. "Do you know anything about the poison?"

"It kills." Sakura replies quickly. "Orochimaru-sama said it was beautiful."

"Do you know anything about its components?"

Jiraiya wants to smack himself. Tsunade has a bad habit of assuming everyone has the same knowledge as her. He wouldn't know the difference between poison and water if they were handed to him labeled so he doesn't blame Sakura when her eyebrows scrunch up in confusion.

"Com-compo-componets?" Sakura murmurs.

Tsunade frowns and Sakura seems to take this the wrong way. "I-I'm sorry, I-"

"It's fine, Sakura-chan." Jiraiya jumps in. "No worries. I have no idea what that means either."

Tsunade rolls her eyes in his direction. "There is nothing wrong with not understanding." She says firmly to Sakura. "All you have to do is ask."

Sakura glances down at her hands again and clenches her fists.

"I think that's enough for today." Jiraiya says quietly. "Yeah, Minato?"

The Hokage nods, regret in his eyes as he watches the girl shiver under their gaze. "Of course. Thank you for your help, Sakura-chan."

Sakura jumps at his words. "I..."

Minato smiles. "Rest up well, okay?" Careful not to make any sudden movements, he steps towards the door. Tsunade follow shim out but Jiraiya stays in his seat for a while longer.

"He's nice, isn't he?"

Sakura nods hesitantly.

"You like him?"

Sakura nods again, then hesitates. "He didn't hit me." She says quietly, then seems to catch herself. " I-"

Jiraiya clenches his fist but keeps his smile on his face. "Of course he didn't. You did nothing wrong. No one will ever hit you, Sakura-chan." Jiraiya says softly. "Even if you mess up. No matter what."

Sakura eyes him, confusion hidden behind the fear, and Jiraiya decides then that one day, he will make her genuinely laugh from the bottom of her heart.

* * *

 **Sooooo...yeah.**

 _ **Darque: Not much, just more bonding time, or more like, build up to bonding time.**_

 **Raven: A little insight into Sakura's past too.**

 _ **Darque: Little...very little.**_

 **Raven** **: True true, but we've got to pull this out. Cause we suck.**

 _ **Darque: We sure do. WE SHALL SIT ON OUR THRONE AND WATCH YOU DEAR READERS WRITHE AND SUFFER FROM OUR ULTIMATE ABILITY-THE LONG WAIT!**_

 **Raven: Isn't it the 'Cliffhanger'?**

 ** _Darque: ...That works too, I guess._**

 **Raven: Of course it does, I'm the one that suggested it.**

 _ **Darque:...**_

 **Raven:...Anyways...yeah...**

 **Read and Review**


	4. Chapter 3

**New story info at the bottom~**

 _ **Chapter THREE**_

Tsunade keeps Sakura in the hospital for the next few days and during this time, everyone treads around the girl carefully.

Jiraiya lingers around the hospital. He is the one that takes the tray from the nurse on food duty and brings it to the girl, because he is the only one able to coax the girl to slowly eat everything given to her. He also begins to tell her of his travels, nothing too deep or detailed, but enough about beyond the village walls to perk her interests. Sakura is yet to ask a question, but Jiraiya feels as though he is slowly chipping in.

Tsunade says it's because Sakura can tell who the idiots are and deems him to be the least of the threat possibilities but Jiraiya knows she is proud of him. Still, the Senju seems to be warming up to Sakura too. The woman comes to personally check on her every day and has officially taken over her case.

Minato comes in a couple more times to try and help ease Sakura both into the change of atmosphere and some more answers out on Orochimaru.

Sakura shares a little more on Orochimaru's visits and some information on the other prisoners but all in all does not know much.

Minato accepts this with a smile and Jiraiya treats the blond to dinner.

* * *

Finally, Sakura is cleared to leave the hospital. Tsunade gives him a list of instructions about Sakura and her health before she allows them to leave after Jiraiya promises to call her the moment something seems wrong.

Sakura is a seemingly young, innocent girl caught up in Orochimaru's mess, but at the same time, she is also a valuable source and possibly a powerful aly in the future.

Sakura is clearly out of shape after days of being confined to a bed and she clumsily stumbles to her feet. Jiraiya is very patient and does not offer to carry her. He instead matches his pace with her and walks beside her as he leads her out of the hospital.

The moment they are out on the streets, they instantly catch the attention of those out during that time. Sakura does not seem to be that uneasy of the eyes, though she does flinch whenever someone brushes past her.

They must make an odd pair, the Toad Sannin and a girl wrapped in bandages, but the Shinobi had heard rumors of the girl and the civilians know well enough to not question things and they make their way through rather undisturbed.

He soon learns that everything is new to Sakura and he is surprised that he had thought otherwise. Apart from assassinations, Sakura would probably have gathered too much attention to let out of whatever lab she had been confined in.

The girl is still too wary of asking questions so for now, Jiraiya allows the girl to set their pace and watches as she slows every once in a while to glance around the village.

He brings her over to his temporary housing during the time he is in Konoha and after a few minutes of baring it, he chases away the ANBU who had been tailing them.

"If I can't handle her, there will be nothing you can do." He had said in a moment of seriousness, before he had grinned. "If Minato has a problem, tell him he can come visit me later with something good to eat."

They reach his apartment without much issues and Jiraiya leads the girl in through the door. He has come back a while earlier to set up the house so that she will be comfortable. "I'll look at those bandages later, okay?" He says.

Sakura, who is looking around the room with childish curiosity, snaps up to look at him. "Of course." She says obediently.

Jiraiya notes to make sure she drops out of that habit. However, he nods anyways. "We can start with dinner." He says. "The hospital grub is dull at best and today, the amazing Jiraiya-sama will cook you dinner."

Sakura looks at him in something akin to awe and does not even hesitate when Jiraiya points her towards the living room. "Sit there and wait a while, okay?"

Jiraiya moves into the kitchen and senses it the moment Sakura moves from her perch on the edge of the sofa.

He doesn't fly out immediately, though, and instead, he moves to the shadows to quietly observe.

Sakura first shuffles over to the window but makes no signs of escaping. Instead, she curiously taps at the window and gasps when her hand touches the glass. She then hesitantly looks around before moving on towards his desk. She flinches when her foot knocks against the chair and makes a soft sound but when nothing happens, she moves carefully around it to peer at the contents on his desk.

Jiraiya has been working on the plans for a new seal structure as well as the newest volume of the Icha Icha series and there is plenty to explore. Sakura pokes curiously at the mess on top of the wooden surface. After a while she pulls back, but her impractically long hair catches the pot of ink of his desk and Sakura jerks back in surprise, the container falling to the ground where it shatters. Instantly worried about the shards, Jiraiya flies out from his hiding spot and Sakura clearly takes this the wrong way, because she scrambles away from him in panic.

"Ah, wait!" Sakura skids to a halt and raises both his hands so she can see them from where she is cowering from him at the foot of the bed. "I'm not going to hit you."

Sakura glances up and flinches at the sound her own clothes make at the movement.

"I'm sorry." She says. "I-I didn't mean to, I-"

"Calm down. Sakura-chan." Jiraiya carefully moves around the broken bottle and crouches down in front of her. "It's okay." He tells her softly. "I'm the amazing Jiraiya-sama. A bottle of ink isn't going to stop me."

He ruffles her hair and persistently continues to do so when Sakura lets out a frightened cry and tries to pull away. He knows there is a possibility he may touch the poison but Tsunade had confirmed that her skin was where it was released. "I'm not going to hurt you." He says. "I promise." With that, he drops his hand and crouches there until Sakura finally brings her arms away from her face and looks up at him.

"Pro...mise?" She asks.

Jiraiya pushes down the pain welling up in his chest and nods. "I promise."

* * *

 **NEW STORY:**

 **The Invisible Sun within Us (Naruto x KHR Crossover):**

 **Sakura was supposed to be dead, so when she realizes that she is in the body of a child, she curses fate. She curses Naruto's pain, Sasuke's path of revenge, Kakashi's broken start and the second chance she doesn't deserve. Still, she swears to keep the girl alive. She had stolen the life of a girl with so much in front of her; it was the least she could do. Sakura reborn as Chrome**

* * *

 **So, here's chapter four~**

 ** _Darque: I have History homework and I haven't done it._**

 **Raven:...You don't have to report it. Go do it.**

 ** _Darque: Bleh._**

 **Raven: What?**

 _ **Darque: I have this problem.**_

 **Raven: Oh? What is it? You have to face them.**

 _ **Darque: I can't. It's overseas.**_

 **Raven:...=.=**

 _ **Darque: It's your face, you see?**_

 **Raven: Well, good luck facing that.**

 _ **Darque: Yeah, I'll need it.**_

 **Read and Review~**


	5. Chapter 4

_**Chapter FOUR**_

The next day, Jiraiya takes Sakura out shopping. He starts with clothes and is careful to choose loose fitting clothes that won't suffocate her anymore than the bandages must make her feel. Sakura ends up with two sundresses and two slightly more shinobi attuned attires. Jiraiya notes to add seals to them too, so that they wouldn't melt when Sakura undid her bandages during fights. He also grabs her some shinobi sandals and a cloak and other things he thinks she might need in the near future.

Sakura is quiet the entire time. She tries out the clothes Jiraiya offers out to her and does not voice an opinion when he asks her what she thinks, because agreeing with everything he says out of fear is not an opinion.

She cracks a smile so small it cannot really be called a smile when Jiraiya compliments her, and he will later come to know that this was not because she was happy for the compliment, but because she had deduced that him words had been genuine and nothing like Orochimaru's words that had done nothing to hide the delight he felt at Sakura's potential.

Jiraiya can tell from the eyes they draw and Sakura's features alone that she will grow up to be breathtaking. He feels sick when he realizes exactly what kind of methods she would have been taught to approach her targets.

She had been pulled out before it had gotten there, though, and this thought saves him of some guilt as he picks out a restaurant to have lunch in.

* * *

A couple of days have passed since Sakura has been released from the hospital and Jiraiya already feels the need to be outside the village walls. However, he patiently waits for the girl to be cleared for travel. Tsunade comes by every day to give her a little check over and Sakura seems to be getting used to the Senju's violent threats too.

Sakura's bandages had been fixed to prioritize comfort and durability and Jiraiya is extremely proud of his work. He checks them every once in awhile but they are holding out very well.

He also has to check her skill level. Sakura has told them that she has been trained to carry out missions in the future and Jiraiya is sure Orochimaru's 'little training' is not something one should put little girls through. However, that all the more makes her suitable to travel with him.

Soon, Tsunade announces that Sakura will be able to spar and a week after Sakura has moved in with him, Jiraiya borrows one of the more secluded training grounds and stands across from the girl. "We'll be sparing a little." He tells her.

Sakura eyes him warily, head and neck tucked between her shoulders. "Fight?" She asks softly.

Jiraiya nods. "Come at me with everything you've got." He grins. "You can take those off." He adds, gesturing at the bandages.

Sakura awkwardly reaches for the seal on the wrist, which Jiraiya had set for easy wrapping and unwrapping. A pulse of chakra and the bandages all unwrap and roll up on their own.

Jiraiya has seen this all when he had first begun his seals but once again, he pauses a second to stare. Sakura's skin looks almost like dried earth, with cracks running up her limbs. She is wearing the clothes he had bought and altered for her earlier and that covers up the majority of her skin but Jiraiya can easily picture the marks that run over the rest of her body. Her skin also seems to glint, the transparent poison no doubt reflecting the sunlight.

Jiraiya thinks that if he didn't know of her situation, he will probably think her skin is glowing.

Sakura herself does not seem to be too conscious of this, probably because in Orochimaru's base she had been left to wander around, dripping her poison everywhere. She has also kicked off her shoes and already, the ground underneath her is beginning to sink in a little as the poison slowly melts it away.

Jiraiya realizes with a start that everything about Sakura is a weapon and contact, no matter how small, will be fatal. He begins to see where Orochimaru had been going with this.

Sakura will be a close combat monster and who knows what else can be taught or had already been hammered into her?

* * *

It takes Jiraiya mere seconds to gauge that contrary to his initial belief, Sakura has not been specially trained in combat. It is not that Sakura does not know how to fight, because she is well above adequate with the basics and her instincts are battle honed. However, she fights like a cornered animal rather than a cold trained killer, as though her skills had been self taught from countless beatings and fights she had clearly not been ready for and.

Jiraiya does not like what the might be suggesting and briefly wonders how many Sakura had been forced to kill to entertain her cage keepers.

Sakura's specialty probably lies in assassination through her innocent appearance and kills that left no traces behind due to the evaporation of the poison soon after it left her body. It lingered long enough to kill, then disappeared seconds later.

The thought leaves a bitter taste in Jiraiya's mouth.

Sakura does not land a single hit on him and while Jiraiya knows this is partially due to his skill, it also has to do with Sakura's own hesitance.

Maybe it had something to do with how her opponents never lasted long enough for her to actually see their pain; they melted into a puddle of liquid flesh, after all, and it appears as though Orochimaru hadn't managed to train the wariness of death out of the girl.

* * *

Sakura does not protest when Jiraiya brings up his travels and her accompaniment the next time he heads out, which will be real soon and a part of him is pleased that Sakura is not showing an unwillingness to leave the village walls.

The girl has quickly become attached to him as he to her and Jiraiya finds a little uncomfortable the way the girl sticks to his very words like glue, though he blames her upbringing where mistakes and disobedience were no doubt painfully punished.

Minato is there to see them off at the gates. Tsunade and Shizune are also there and like the Sannin had said, they will be leaving with them.

Sakura hesitantly reaches out with a bandaged hand towards Tsunade and the woman takes it with rare tenderness. The pinkette hesitates before she clenches her free hand. "I like your green chakra." She tells the Senju softly.

Tsunade's eyes widen in surprise but she takes it all in stride. "Healing chakra is gentle by nature." She explains.

"Because it heals." Sakura's eyes are glowing a little and Jiraiya grins.

"It does."

"My hands, they destroy." Sakura pulls her hand away from Tsunade as she says this, like she has come to a sudden realization. "Can such hands bring gentleness?"

Tsunade's eyes darken and she gently touches Sakura's head to make her look at her. "All hands are capable to being gentle." She says. "Just like mine can fix and break, what one can do with their hands depends fully on the owner of said hands."

Jiraiya must have been grinning in a mother hen sort of way, because Tsunade glares at him from over the pinkette's head.

Sakura steps back after a few more seconds and Jiraiya pulls his teammate away for a few words. "You take care, yeah?"

Tsunade scoffs. "I'm more worried about you."

Jiraiya grins and gladly accepts the smack to the back of his bead.

The two of them part, with Tsunade adamant in heading in the opposite direction. Shizune merely smiles at the sight and Sakura lingers behind, looking nervous at the sudden change of environment. Jiraiya relents soon enough, like they both knew he would, and when they head off, none of them look back.

* * *

 **Here's chapter fiveeee~**

 _ **Darque: Look at that, more bonding.**_

 **Raven: Yeah.**

 _ **Darque: And more to come.**_

 **Raven: Mhm.**

 _ **Darque: We'll be having a short time skip after this, to jump to the more interesting parts.**_

 **Raven: Isn't this interesting too?**

 _ **Darque: I never said it wasn't. I said 'more interesting'.**_

 **Raven:...hm...**

 _ **Darque: Well, yeah.**_

 **Raven:** **Mkay.**

 **Read and Review~**


	6. Chapter 5

_**Chapter FIVE**_

There is a patterned knock from above and the sound of brush hitting paper pauses. Jiraiya looks up just as one of the ceiling planks moves to the side and a head with a pair of glowing green eyes cautiously peeks in over the edge. "Welcome back, Sakura-chan."

There is a small gasp and a nervous pause. "Jiraiya-sama." Sakura, flips herself over and lands neatly in a crouch beside him. "I have returned."

Jiraiya grins and with deliberately slow actions, he ruffles her hair, chuckling when she preens at the contact. "How was it?"

Sakura pulls away and straightens herself. Her face is instantly a mask of indifference and her voice is monotone when she speaks. "There were no drastic changes noted." She says. She pulls out a file from her sleeve and hands it over. Jiraiya takes it and forces himself to smile when he sees the content.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan."

Sakura's lips twitch in displeasure at the honorific Jiraiya refuses to drop but she does not complain. Jiraiya notes that he needs to push a little harder to go from displeasure to annoyance but decides to stop at this moment.

Instead, he spreads the pieces of paper on his table. Sakura seems to like noting down her reports through drawings. It was a good idea, he thinks, because they are...not that good and nobody would guess anything should she ever drop them.

Actually, he was being kind. When Orochimaru had been creating his human weapon, it seems he hadn't thought to give them drawing skills. He eyes the paper with utmost concentration. "So, that's a house..."

"Shop, Jiraiya-sama." Sakura supplies quietly.

Jiraiya chuckles. "Ah, yes, of course." He taps the square with the triangle sitting on top. "A shop, right."

Sakura smiles.

Jiraiya frowns at the thing beside it. "This is a..."

"Tea shop." Sakura chirps. "It is a tea shop."

"So you met the...source," He taps the squiggle of what he thinks is a ball of fur. "At the tea shop?"

Sakura nods. "Bought me dango." She says, smiling faintly.

Jiraiya hums. "And did they say anything?"

Sakura shows him the second page of her report.

This page is full of orange wriggles and blobs of black and Jiraiya narrows his eyes just a little. "No movements?" He asks, just to make sure.

Sakura nods. "No movement." She confirms.

Jiraiya sighs. Sakura is as thorough as she can be and it appears his source is doing just as well. Still..."I still don't like that you have to talk to him while I'm stuck here." He crosses his arms and leans back. "I mean, he's so dark and doomy gloomy and you might catch his monosyllable-nese. And he contacts you, not me! You could at least tell me before you leave, you know?"

Sakura frowns and taps her chin before her eyes brighten. "Ah!" Her lips twitch. "Trade secret."

Jiraiya sighs again and he shadows his head. "I wonder where you learn all these words."

Sakura hums and plops herself down on the bed. "Where to next, Jiraiya-sama?"

Jiraiya clicks his tongue. "That small village near Ame, I think."

Sakura nods and Jiraiya knows that her mind is already sorting through the heaps of information stored within her. "Rest, Sakura-chan. You'll be busy when we get there."

"Okay." Sakura kicks her legs out and flops down onto her bed. She shuffles around a little and hums in satisfaction. "Goodnight, Jiraiya-sama."

Jiraiya smiles warmly. "Night, Sakura-chan."

The girl is out like a flash and Jiraiya carefully pulls her blanket over her.

* * *

It has been five years since Jiraiya has taken the girl in and he thinks they have come a long way.

The Toad Sanin clearly remembers the first few months of their travels together. The girl had been an emotional mess, seeing grabbing hands only she could see and hearing voices only she could hear.

What made it worse was that this was all within her own mind. On the outside, she was the perfect doll. She had done as told and spoke only when she was spoken to.

Had Orochimaru been there to retrieve her, she probably would have been turned into an amazing assassin. With her exotic features and her deadly touch, she probably could have brought down hundreds.

Jiraiya had been disgusted with the shell Orochimaru had made her into. It was only the exterior that had made her even a little human.

Her first instinct in a 'fight or flight' situation was to kill whatever was making her uncomfortable. It had taken her months, almost a year, to break out of the habits that had been violently beaten into her.

But because she was a shell, once the outside had been shattered, Jiraiya had been able to fill her with the character of what a child should be. Because she was empty, she had taken in everything Jiraiya had to teach about the world without qualms. The forced suppression of knowledge and freedom had worked in his favor. Everything had been something new to her. The soft breeze through her hair. The river water than ran around her limbs. The distant chirping of birds. The smell of freshly baked bread in an early market.

Being able to walk around without being bound. The absence of a blindfold and a gag. The lack of metallic clanking of the shackles. The lightness of not having to drag around a sealed weight with a collar.

Gifts that did not require repaying a debt. Smiles that did not conceal mockery. Words that did not aim to hurt and belittle. Contact that did not hurt and cause pain.

Everything. He'd meant it when he that thought it.

He flips through Sakura's hand drawn notes one more time and pulls out a scroll to gather it into a report.

Minato will be expecting a file soon.

* * *

 **So, in case you missed it, there has been a time skip~**

 _ **Darque: This was a little intro like thing, I guess.**_

 **Raven: Yeah, the interesting stuff will start soon~**

 _ **Darque: I cannot wait.**_

 **Raven: This is getting exciting.**

 _ **Darque: I cannot wait.**_

 **Raven:...Okay.**

 **Read and Review~**


	7. Chapter 6

_**Chapter SIX**_

Sakura obediently follows Jiraiya through the streets. This is their last stop at a neighboring village before they travel the last patch of land and arrive in Ame.

The two of them have been travelling together for as long as Sakura can remember. She likes Jiraiya and she can tell he likes her. He spoils her rotten and makes sure she never goes hungry. He buys her clothes and whatever form of entertainment she wants.

When they are alone, he lets her lower her bandages. She no longer feels suffocated and Jiraiya has made adjustments to the seals to make sure she is never uncomfortable but it still feels better.

And he doesn't hit her.

And in return, Sakura does her best. She keeps the man company and bails him out when he gets into a tight situation with one of the women he is trying to woo. She widens her eyes and smiles and they instantly forgive him.

She is useful too, she knows. She is small and cuddly and cute and people don't even consider that she is the messenger of someone like Jiraiya of the Sanin. This allows the man to move from informant to informant without having to expose himself. She is also agile and nimble and good with her hands too.

And more than anything, she is adaptable. People like adaptable tools because then they don't have to waste time to get a tool for each area of speciality.

She knows this, because she had seen it happen all her life.

* * *

She hears a soft caw and she casually looks up.

A single black bird with beady eyes stare intentlt at her. Sakura glanced around to check her surroundings before she raises a hand and bird obediently flies down and lands on her wrist.

She takes the letter attached to its leg, reads it, then activates the chakra seal that makes it light up in flames. In seconds, there are no traces of it left. Sakura feeds the bird a bit of the dango in her hand and pats it before watching fly off.

She does not know what kinship feels like but if she was able to feel it, she thinks this would be it.

Perhaps because they were a little alike.

Obedient and useful.

Still, sometimes, she wonders. What drove this creature to act like it did? Did this crow fear abandonment from it's master, just like she did?

* * *

Uchiha Itachi makes himself comfortable before he pulls out a scroll and summons its content. He empties his weapons pouch and begins polishing his kunai.

He and Kisame have just finished their assigned mission and the former Kiri nin has gone out to a bar for the night so Itachi has the room to himself.

He senses it the moment she enters the inn. It is like a flickering of warm, familiar chakra and Itachi feels himself relax.

The door to his room is slowly and carefully slid open and a pink haired girl peeks at him nervously from the gap. "Itachi-san?"

Itachi allowed the faintest of smiles to appear on his face. He nods in greeting and beckons her in with a flick of his finger. "Come in, Sakura-san."

Sakura smiles softly and does as told. She sits down neatly next to him. "How have you been, Itachi-san?"

Her greetings are still robotc and forced, something automatic. Still, she remembers and Itachi thinks this is a good step.

"Fine, thank you."

Sakura's smiles a little and she hums, looking pleased. "A month since our last meeting." She notes. "You have news?" She asks.

Itachi resists the urge to poke her cheek and instead, he simply nods.

Sakura taps her feet against the ground then turns to the side and begins rummaging through her bag. She rummages around then begins to empty the container, looking for something. Itachi carefully places everything to the side. At one point, a veil of purple powder lands in his palm and he is sure he does not want to sleep in a bed full of poison that would do who knows what to him. He carefully places it beside a copy of 'The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi', several other suspicious looking veils, a pair of kunai that looks like it had been chewed on by a beast with steel for teeth, a shopping list that screamed 'Jiraiya' which Itachi tears up without a second thought, a travel size scroll holding sealing equipment and a frog plushie that probably had been better days.

Sakura gasps a little and she sits up with her usual drawing scroll in her hands. She undoes the string tying it together and sets up her pot of already liquid ink to write with. She then looks expectantly up at him.

Itachi has sorted through what he needed to say before Sakura had arrived and he quickly gets to the point. "Deidara, a missing nin of Iwagakure, has joined the Akatsuki."

Sakura taps her chin with the tip of her brush, splattering ink everywhere. Itachi frowns at the marks it leaves on the floor.

"From the Bakuha Butai?" She finally asks. "16?"

Itachi nods, no longer surprised that Sakura already knows this. Jiraiya has a vast network, after all. He inwardly winces as he watches Sakura scribble furiously at her scroll. When she pauses, Itachi continues. "Orochimaru's locations are still unknown." He says. "His search is being lowered from our priorities. I believe Pein is getting ready to reveal ourselves formally."

"Like the 'Manuke' organization from the Dokonjou Ninden." Sakura says quietly.

Itachi glances over at the well read copy of the 'Tales of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi' sitting beside her and smiles softly. "Yes." He agrees.

* * *

Itachi remembers the first time he saw her as clearly as yesterday. It had been on a mission with Kisame to the land of tea. There had been rumors that Jiraiya of the Sannin had been seen in the area and that had put both him and his partner on the edge.

What they hadn't expected to see was the Toad Sage sitting outside a tea shop Itachi had been eyeing with a small child like form sitting next to him. What had caught his eye was the fact that apart from her eyes, not a single part of her body was visible.

The first thing Itachi had suspected was a whole body burn. What else would convince a child, who looked barely older than his younger brother, to look like a mummy?

From the way her movements were not at all hindered by the bandages told him she had been like this for a very long time. A pang hit his chest and he wondered what a shinobi like Jiraiya was doing with such a young girl.

The spot beside a powerful person was both the most safe and most dangerous place one could be.

"What should we do?" Kisame had asked. "Slip away?" He grinned. "Or challenge them for that bench so you can give yourself cavities?"

Itachi eyed his partner. "We will not confront them. Not here." He paused. "Proper care can prevent cavities."

Kisame had snorted in amusement and the two of them had slipped away, Itachi fully aware of the piercing green eyes boring into his back.

* * *

A lot of things have changed since then.

Itachi clears his head of such thoughts and takes one of the chewed up kunai and holds it up so that he can see it.

"Ah, don't-" Sakura flinches at her own voice and quickly looks down.

Itachi turns to her and tries to coaxes her to look up at him. "How did this happen?" He asks gently.

Sakura's clouded eyes brighten a little. "I-In the Forest of Death." She tells him shyly. "A huge tiger attacked me." She gestures slowly at the teeth marks. "It did that."

Itachi hums in amusement. "A memento?" He asks.

Sakura nods. "Yes."

Itachi carefully places the kunai down beside the girl. "You'll have to hold onto it, then."

Sakura nods and smiles softly.

The girl leaves a while later, as swiftly as she had come. Itachi watches from the shadows by the window as the girl hurries down the street. He guesses from the way no one turns to give her a second glance despite her appearance and hair, she is using a genjutsu.

Perhaps not a henge, but more along the lines of a notice-me-not?

Itachi stops his line of thinking before his mind is consumed with theories. He cannot risk being detracted, not a single bit. His mind then decides to wander and brings forth an image of a young boy from so long ago, and yet, so recent, in his memories.

 _Sasuke._

Itachi tears his gaze away from the retreating girl's back. He fears that a day will come where he will have to chose between his brother, who he had given up everything for, and Sakura, who had been a ray of innocence in his slowly corrupting soul.

Fear is all consuming in so many ways, so Itachi forcefully brings down the gates to his emotions and when he looks up again, just as Sakura vanished off around a corner, the reflection that stares back at him from the window is someone he had seen pleasantly of times in his nightmares.

He closes the curtains with more force than necessary.

He cannot be consumed. Not yet.

* * *

 **sO, CHAPTER SEVEN IS HERE**

 _ **Darque: Sakura's personality is a little wavery here. I'm still trying to decide.**_

 **Raven: I can tell.**

 ** _Darque: Also, this has not been proof read (Like that line above) (_** ** _(Just a warning)) (((A late one, but meh)))_**

 **Raven: We don't really proofread our stories to begin with.**

 _ **Darque: We do, a little. Like a skim read.**_

 **Raven: That's why you have so many dumb mistakes.**

 _ **Darque: It's your job to help me check it =.=**_

 **Raven: Since when?**

 _ **Darque: Since you applied for the job.**_

 **Raven: I don't get paid for this.**

 _ **Darque: Volunteer work, then.**_

 **Raven: I was thinking more along the lines of slave labor.**

 _ **Darque: Ah yes, my faithful slave.**_

 **Raven:...**

 **Read and Review~**


	8. Chapter 7

_**Chapter SEVEN**_

It is a few days after their departure from Ame that Jiraiya catches wind of a coming storm. Sakura's talk with a source only confirms his growing fear and by noon of the same day, they are leaving Ame and heading straight back towards Konoha.

Jiraiya knows there is something wrong the moment the outline of the village appears in the far distance and he feels bad as he quickens his pace, knowing Sakura is not quite yet able to keep up. The gates are unguarded when he arrives at the walls but by then, he clearly knows why.

The village is a mess, and by the time Sakura catches up to his side, breathing heavily, he has gathered what is going on.

The huge snake that had just erupted was a clear enough sign. The pinkette sees it a second later and freezes.

"Orochimaru..."

Jiraiya narrows his eyes. He does not know where Orochimaru is, and without knowing his true aims, it would be difficult to track him down. Not to mention, he is probably the only one that can deal with the massive reptile causing havoc. "Sakura-chan, I need you to go find Minato-kun." He says. "Can you do that for me?"

Sakura straightens and nods.

"If you see any Oto or Suna shinobi, deal with them." Jiraiya does not like ordering the girl to kill, but the situation is dire, and he knows it.

Sakura nods again.

Jiraiya hesitates only for a second then quickly hugs the girl. "I'll come find you the moment I'm done." He promises. "Be careful."

Sakura stiffens at the contact but does not pull away. "Of course." She whispers.

Jiraiya lets the girl go and watches her vanish before he takes off toward the snake summon.

* * *

Sakura runs through the destroyed streets with her arms and face free of the bandages. She spits poison that eats through armor and catches the handles of thrown weapons, which causes the metal to immediately begin streaming as it is melted.

She has been to Suna once and knows the Oto emblem off by heart. She takes them out as she goes and avoid anyone else.

At one point, she rescues a group of surrounded Konoha Chunin and they try to stop her as she steps over the melting bodies of enemy shinobi.

"State your name and your affiliation!"

Sakura pauses on the roof of a building and thinks things over. "I am Sakura." She says. "I am with Jiraiya-sama."

A murmur passes over at the mention of the Toad Sannin, but Sakura leaves before they make any further reactions. She clears streets of enemy ninja in mere minutes as she heads towards what is probably the heart of the invasion.

A stadium like building soon looms over her and Minato's chakra signature is coming from within it.

And there is also something else.

It is a distant traces of a chakra signature that makes her freeze on the spot and the poison within her bubble in excitement. She had known the man was here; the snakes were a clear enough sign, but that was a completely different story when the nightmares of the early years of one's life previously stood nothing but a single wall away.

She thinks of Jiraiya's orders and the kindness in the man's smiles. She takes a deep breath, then locates the entrance and slips in.

* * *

Jiraiya makes quick work with the snake summon. The reptile was probably nothing more than a distraction and is nothing against a summon of equal level accompanied by their summoner. Shinobi begin flanking him as they realize who he is and while Jiraiya might usually appreciate the adoration, today, he is busy.

He knows that while he is within her walls, he has to prioritize Konoha. Sending Sakura to the stadium had been the best course of action for the village, because the girl is skilled enough to take down enemy shinobi, but he also knows that is most likely the location Orochimaru is at.

Minato is a skilled shinobi and he has subordinates who are just as skilled, but there is a reason the invasion was still ongoing, and that is because Orochimaru is still alive.

Something must have happened.

Jiraiya gives quick orders to the gathered ninja, telling them of places he had seen with lacking support and places they could look for survivors. The team immediately act upon his orders and Jiraiya quickly begins making his way towards the stadium.

* * *

Sakura instantly catches sight of a flash of blond and she quickly makes her way over to him. She lands quietly behind him but his guards have clearly been appointed for their skill, because they instantly notice. Sakura does not react when instantly, she is surrounded and with blades held at her throat.

"Who are you?" One of them demand.

However, Minato is already noticing her arrival and he is quick to stop his shinobi. "Sakura-chan."

Sakura drops into a bow the moment the blades move away enough for her to do so. "Hokage-sama."

Minato is quick to check over her for injuries. "You aren't hurt? Where is Jiraiya-sensei?"

"Jiraiya-sama is dealing with the snake summon." Sakura straightens and thinks it safe enough for her to gauge the situation. "What are your orders, Hokage-sama?"

Minato stiffens and his eyes trail from her towards the rest of the village. "There is a Jinchuuriki lose in the Forest of Death." He tells her. "Sandaime-sama has been killed and-" He cuts himself off. "Sakura-chan-"

"Where is Orochimaru?" Sakura asks.

Minato stiffens. "He escaped." He tells her.

Sakura stand there for a few seconds before she takes a deep breath. "Hokage-sama..."

Minato simply nods. "Go find Jiraiya and tell him." He tells her gently.

Sakura eyes the man for a few more seconds before she straightens her shoulders and nods once, firmly.

Jiraiya often tells her that she is greatly improving. Maybe one day, she will come to understand the transparent liquid glistening in the corner of Minato's eyes.

* * *

 **So...yeah...**

 _ **Darque: I said 'Oh, it's summer, maybe more updates', and I'm so late =.=**_

 **Raven: Uh...yeah...but we're having fun?**

 _ **Darque: Yeah, we are.**_

 **Raven: It's been a while since we last saw each other, a year to be precise, so yeah.**

 _ **Darque: Also, this chapter was kinda choppy? It's mainly cause it isn't**_ **that _important to Sakura._**

 **Raven: That and we don't exactly know what Jiraiya was doing during the attack or right before it...**

 _ **Darque: Maybe there actually was a focus on him in the canon thing.**_

 **Raven: Yeah, but neither of us have watched it or read it or anything it.**

 _ **Darque: That's true. Only fanfiction.**_

 **Raven: :)**

 **Read and Review~**


	9. Chapter 8

_**Chapter EIGHT**_

The aftermath of the invasion is full of utter chaos and mourning. The death of the Third Hokage, who had fallen at the hands of Orochimaru, was greeted with desperation and sadness.

Jiraiya agrees to stay until the initial panic had settled and he spends a lot of time outside meetings walking around the village and helping with reconstruction. His summons seem to brightened the day of children and his presence alone appears to calm everyone

Sakura finds herself not liking the sudden change to the village. As she follows Jiraiya around as his unseen shadow, she searches. All she sees are sad people trying to cling on to something that does not exist and faint traces of what had once been.

The bright and colorful Konoha she remembers is nowhere to be seen.

She later asks Jiraiya about it, and he reminds her that to everyone here, Konoha was their home. They are sad because it was destroyed and angry because they could not do anything to protect it.

To Sakura, Jiraiya is her home. He is the one constant presence in her life and the one place she could be herself. She imagines what it would be like if she lost him and decides she understands the sadness.

When Jiraiya is once again called in for a meeting, Sakura asks for permission Jiraiya happily gives and wanders out by herself. She does not know what is calling, but she decides she wants to find it. As she walks, she recognizes the traces of buildings that had once been and small parks with only rubble left as proof of its existence.

She sees adults running around rebuilding and children gathering around places of memories.

"You!"

Sakura hears the voice but she keeps walking, because no one apart from Jiraiya or one of his contacts had ever talked to her. She turns around though, when the voice repeats itself, louder and more firmly this time.

She sees a sees young woman, older than her, rapidly approaching her. At her feet are three dogs.

Sakura stiffens and realizes with a start that she had been so deep in her thoughts that she has wandered away from the civilian district. Around her, the rubble piles are higher and there are close to no people around.

"You aren't supposed to be here. This area is a no-entry zone."

Sakura does not know what to do, because while the woman does not look openly angry, Sakura knows people often get angry at her anyways. Jiraiya has once told her people get angry when someone does something bad, and if Orochimaru's subordinates got angry at her for nothing, what was to say this woman was any different?

She thinks back to what Jiraiya does when a scary looking woman stomps up to him. She turns and runs.

There is a sharp order to stop from the woman behind her but Sakura does not. She knows the woman is chasing after her and Sakura makes several sharp turns around the piles of debris in hopes of throwing the woman off as she makes her way back towards the heart of the village.

However, the woman is clearly good at tracking, because she is hot on her heels. Sakura takes to the roofs the first chance she gets and immediately notices when several shinobi appear in her line of vision.

The woman had called back up.

Jiraiya had told her that she was not to raised a blade against those on her side, but she is not sure it applies here, when said people are looking like they are going to attack her. She slowly raises a hand to the seals that releases the bandages from around her mouth, knowing that the poison she releases with each breath is not strong enough to kill, but it will be more than enough for her to escape.

"Sakura-chan!"

Sakura freezes at the call of her name and warily glances behind her to see a young man waving frantically. "Wait, Tsume-chan! That's Jiraiya-sama's accompaniment."

The woman with the markings on her face narrows her eyes but drops her stance. "Oh?"

The man who had defended her hurries over so he is in between them. "This is Sakura-chan. She was there during the invasion. She helped us."

The woman, Tsume, signals for her growling dogs to back down and Sakura watches in interest. "Then why didn't she just say so? She didn't have to run."

The man flicks his senbon from the left of his mouth to the right and turns to her. Sakura realizes she recognized this man as one of the shinobi who had moved to defend the hokage when she had first arrived. "Remember me?"

Sakura warily nods.

The man sags in relief and signals for the gathered shinobi to leave. They do so without more than a few curious looks, and soon, only the man and Tsume are left.

"I'm Genma. Shiranui Genma." The male tells her. "I was there when you first popped out of nowhere in the arena."

"I remember." Sakura says softly. She then turns to Tsume. "I'm sorry about running." She apologizes quietly, because Jiraiya has told her that it is right to apologize if she has done something wrong. "Nothing good comes out when a pretty lady chases us."

"'Us' as in-" Tsume snorts in amusement. "Ah, Jiraiya-sama."

Genma laughs too, and Sakura wonders what she has said had been warrent a laugh.

"Well, I'm Inuzuka Tsume, and I'm sorry about yelling, then." Tsume says. "It's just that the area you were in was still very unstable and dangerous. The debris might collapse or something."

Sakura is not sure what to say and instead, glances back down at her feet again. A flash of grey catches her eye and she glances over at the three dogs, who had now lost all of their hostility and were sitting patiently at Tsume's feet.

Their fur looks fluffy and rich, so unlike her dried, deadly skin. Sakura subconsciously runs her bandage wrapped fingers over the material of her clothes. Touch for her is always through at least one layer of rough bandages and never natural. The only thing she has ever run her fingers through freely is her own hair. She quickly tears her gaze away because animals have never reacted well around her, unless they were Orochimaru's snakes, and uneasily shuffles her feet. "I...I have to go back." She says. "Jiraiya-sama will be-" Sakura hesitates. "...wondering where I am."

Genma hums thoughtfully. "The meeting ended a little while ago." He tells her. "If he didn't get sidetracked somewhere, Jiraiya-sama should arriving at his apartment right about now."

Sakura nods. "Okay." She glances down towards the streets, recognizing her current location and knowing that Jiraiya's apartment is not very far.

From up here, she can see a whole lot more of the destruction caused and she can even see a large dented section of the road that had been crushed, probably by Orochimaru's snake summon.

She is Orochimaru's former master piece. She is a creation of the man that everyone in the village currently hated more than before.

While it had occurred a few times in the last few days, the thought once again hits her, and she decides that she wants to return to Jiraiya's side.

Sometimes, she likes it when she doesn't have to think. Beside Jiraiya, she knows exactly where she stands and what she is meant to do. She has been with the man long enough to know what he wants and what he expects of her.

Genma and Tsume are softly talking about something. "I'm sorry for causing a commotion." Sakura says, managing to catch their reaction.

Genma opens his mouth but Sakura hurries off before she hears what he has to say. She is sure that the man at least knows something about her, and she does not want the kind smiles they had shared with her after the initial confusion to be replaced with looks of hostility.

* * *

 **So, here's chapter nine~**

 _ **Darque: This chapter is focused around Sakura, I guess. She'll be meeting a few more people before she leaves with Jiraiya again.**_

 **Raven: In other words, this is like a build up before she meets a few core characters.**

 _ **Darque: Then we have the Tsunade search arc thing, and she will meet Team Seven, probably.**_

 **Raven: So look forward to that~**

 **Read and Review~**


	10. Chapter 9

**_Chapter NINE_**

"How was it?"

The first thing Jiraiya does when he opens the door for Sakura is grin widely and hold up a bag of takeout food as he asks her about her day.

The girl jumps as though she had been deep in thought but lets him usher her into his apartment without complaint. Once she is settled at the dining table and Jiraiya has finished his initial fussing over her, she hesitantly begins to talk. "I met Shiranui Genma-san and Inuzuka Tsume-san." She says, almost like a mission report. "They were...nice to me."

"That's good." Jiraiya makes a note to treat the younger man to a signed copy of his book. Maybe Tsume would like his company...?

"The village was...different." Sakura tells him slowly. "I didn't like it. I thought that if I walked around, I'd find what was missing."

Jiraiya smiles softly. "Did you find it?"

Sakura frowns, then shakes her head. "I don't think so. I don't even know what I'm looking for. How do I find something I don't know?"

"You'll know when you find it." Jiraiya says, because there isn't really much he could say if Sakura was trying to pull together a picture only she could see. He places food onto Sakura's plate, then scoops some for himself.

"Okay." Sakura begins to eat without prompting and he grins.

There was something he could help her with, though. "Maybe you should go out again tomorrow." He suggests. "I have a few more things I have to take care of, then we'll be heading out again."

"Where to?" Sakura asks.

Jiraya smiles and shrugs. "We're going on a man hunt...lady hunt?"

* * *

The next day, Sakura does as Jiraiya had suggested. She leaves the apartment with him and he drops her off at the edges of the market.

Sakura watches Jiraiya leave before she glances carefully around at her surroundings.

All around her are colorful stores. Sakura realizes that the people around her had seen her with Jiraiya and were now staring at her. She lowers her head and quickly slips into the crowd.

She breaks through at the other side of a huge wave of people and a nice smell immediately hits her. She remembers that Jiraiya had had to leave early and had given her money to eat outside.

This would be her first time eating outside by herself.

Sakura follows the smell and finds herself outside a restaurant. "Yakiniku Q." She reads to herself. She wanders a little closer and the waitress at the entrance spots her. "Welcome! Will it be a seat for one?"

Before Sakura can protest, the woman had smiled at her and nudged her inside.

Sakura, a little bewildered, sits down at the seat pointed out to her. A menu is placed in front of her and after a couple minutes of nervous staring, she reaches out for it.

"Oh, someone's sitting at our usual place."

Sakura looks up with a start at the sudden voice. A girl, a platinum blonde, is walking towards her, though she does not seem particularly angry. Behind her stands two boys around the same age as her. She skids to a halt a few feet away and Sakura can see herself reflected in her eyes.

The girl before her is pretty. She has fair skin, flowing hair and blue eyes.

Sakura tugs at the bandages around her mouth and quickly shakes her head. "O-oh, sorry." She says. "The people told me to sit here..."

If she doesn't run, people won't chase her.

"Oh, uh." The girl glances at her curiously. "Well, it's fine, I guess. Anyways, I haven't seen you around before."

"I have been out of the village until recently." Sakura tells her, still unsure of what to do.

One of the two boys peer curiously at her. "Why are you wearing bandages?"

The other two freeze and immediately move to hush him.

However, Sakura is used to such questions. The boy looks genuine too, and she decides that she does not mind, because she will answer all of them the same way.

"I believe it will be better for you not to know."

The girl eyes her curiously. "You seem to be here alone. Can we sit here?"

Sakura jumps in surprise at the request but hesitantly nods before she can change her mind. "Yes, sure."

The girl grins. "Great." She plops down opposite her and the boy with red swirls on his cheeks, the one who had asked her about her bandages, sits beside her. The other boy, with the spiky ponytail, moves to sit beside Sakura, who forces herself not to flinch away. Jiraiya-sama's bandages were strong and durable. As long as she does not take them off, she will not hurt any of them.

"I'm Ino." The girl tells her. "Yamanaka Ino. This guy-" She points at the boy beside her "is Akimichi Choji and that-" She gestures to the ponytailed boy. "is Nara Shikamaru."

Sakura hammers their names and faces to memory then nods. "My name is Sakura."

"Nice to meet you, Sakura." Ino grins. "Have you ordered yet?"

Sakura shakes her head. "It is my first time eating out by myself." She admits. "I usually don't eat much, so-"

Ino shrugs. "Well, we come here often, so I'm sure we can help you pick the best things to eat. Shika, help her pick something out."

Sakura jumps when the boy beside her lets out a dull groan.

Ino rolls her eyes. "Don't mind him. He's just very lazy. Whack him and I'm sure he'll help out."

Sakura eyes the boy uneasily. "Oh, um-"

Shikamaru slowly sits up and leans over the menu Sakura had been clutching. "Just order a set.' He tells her. "You can pick off what you want from the pan when we order the rest." He then slumps back over the table.

Sakura turns back to the menu and decides to do as he had suggested. "This one, then."

Choji calls over a waiter and rattles off a list of foods. The man writes this down on a notepad then walks off.

Ino turns to Sakura again. "So, where do you come from?" She asks curiously. "I-"

Just then, there is a loud crash at the door, followed by a loud "SAKURA-CHAN!"

Sakura quickly stands up, because that is Jiraiya's voice, and she sees the man waving dramatically at her. "I thought you were at a meeting?" She asks.

The Sannin walks over. "I snuck out, because I thought you might be lonely." He then glances at the three who had joined her. "Or not. You made some friends?"

Sakura glances her current companions, unsure. "They...have been telling me what is recommended here." She finally says.

Jiraiya smiles. "That's nice." He says. "You're the Ino-shika-Cho, hm?" He says, more to himself than to someone else. "Well, I'm reassured that you'll be fine. I'll leave Sakura-chan in your care." He then turns and wanders back out of the restaurant, like he had not barged in a couple of seconds earlier.

The moment he is gone, Ino begins to scream. "Was that _the_ Jiraiya-sama?" She asks. "The Jiraiya of the Sannin?"

Sakura nods slowly.

"I've never seen him before." Choji says in awe.

Ino nods rapidly. "Me neither. Oh my gods Sakura, how do you know him?"

"I travel around with him." She sees no harm and decides to tell them. "I returned to Konoha with him."

Ino begins to chatter excitedly about the Sannin and Sakura decides that she quite likes this, and this warm, bubbly feeling lasts until the food arrives. She can sense the eyes watching her curiously as she prods at the meat then at the bandages covering her mouth.

She was used to being watched, being stared at, and she was also used to people leaning away in disgust.

She takes a deep breath, then unwraps her face. Ino is the first to gasp as Sakura tucks the bandaged into her collar. She unconsciously runs a bandaged hand over her mouth and does not look up. "Sorry." She whispers.

"Why are you apologizing?"

Surprisingly, it is Shikamaru who asks her this.

Sakura blinks at him and quickly looks down again. "I..." Sakura knows how she looks. Her skin is cracked and dry looking even on the best of days and there is transparent but obvious liquid dripping down.

It is disturbing to look at, she can say so herself.

"What are you waiting for, Sakura?" Ino asks. "It's your first time, so just try whatever you want. It's on Shika."

Sakura glances up at the girl from the top of her eyes as Shikamaru begins to loudly complain. All three o them are careful not to stare, and Sakura shakily picks up her chopsticks. She prods at the first thing on her plate, then carefully pops it into her mouth; Her hands are fine, bandaged and all, but wood melts like ice in her mouth, where there was a constant stream of acid.

"How is it?" Choji asks.

Sakura is quick to bite down and she savors the taste of meat for a few brief seconds before it dissolves in her mouth. "It's good." She says honestly.

Choji smiles and the three of them begin to eat as well. Sakura pops another piece of meat into her mouth and watches the three of them talk about things she has never heard of before, but she finds that she does not mind. She can breath easily and the people around her does not flinch away.

As she watches Ino smack Shikamaru for something he had, or perhaps hadn't, said, Sakura realizes with a start that a part of her wants to stay in Konoha and that thought scares her, because she has come to know that she should not hope.

She was the creation of the man who had murdered the Third Hokage alongside countless numbers of civilians.

On top of that, loyalty was a chain that bound one's soul. As much as Jiraiya takes care of her, he is ultimately bound to the village just like she is bound to him.

* * *

 **So, here's chapter tennnnnn.**

 _ **Darque: A little longer than usual.**_

 **Raven: Hm. She met people.**

 _ **Darque: She did.**_

 **Raven: Next chapter, she will be going on the lady hunt.**

 _ **Darque: That is the plan, anyways.**_

 **Raven:** **So yeah~**

 **Read and Review~**


	11. Chapter 10

_**Chapter TEN**_

Jiraiya leaves the meeting feeling more down than he had been in a while.

He understands the reasoning of the council and knows Minato has to do what is best for everyone. That does not mean he likes the decisions and the ultimate order given to him

He is to find Senju Tsunade and bring her back to Konoha.

The Attempted Konoha Crush had highlighted what had been known but ignored up to this point.

The medical technology and skills of Konoha Shinobi has not improved since Tsunade had left. It is as though she had taken all the potential of medical advancement with her the day she departed. The Council had raises that had the shinobi had more medical training, the damage could have been decreased.

After all, quick and efficient healing meant more shinobi could have been pumped back into the battle at a much faster rate.

Jiraiya himself has not talked to his teammate since Sakura herself had first come to Konoha. Of course, he knows where she is through his contacts but he also knows that their relationships is currently strained. He doubts she will comply to his request of her return simply because he asks but he also understands that things are getting desperate.

Minato is calling back teams from various long term missions in order to send them out on shorter, higher pay jobs.

This meant most of them were dangerous, but he does not have a choice. Konoha needs the money to rebuild, and she has to do this as soon as possible, to hold a strong face in front of other villages that might try to take advantage of her weakened state. After all, it was a former member of the village, a Sanin to boot, that had been the one to wreak havoc. That is not something anyone against them will forget easily.

Jiraiya sighs. He has one day to prepare for departure.

* * *

Sakura appears as understanding as ever at their plans for abrupt departure and Jiraiya hates this even more as the girl begins the process of packing, something they have done plenty of times before.

Jiraiya sorts out reports regarding the Akatsuki and adds in the last part of the information he has just finished arranging. He heads out to talk to Minato and leaves Sakura to finish her own preparations.

Sakura is gone when he returns a few hours later and he misses the chance to tell her that arrangements have been made and Minato's son, as well as his best friend, will now be accompanying them.

* * *

Sakura settles on the training grounds Jiraiya has told her she could use as she pleased and takes a deep breath.

She must prepare for the outside again. The few days she has spent without even a hint of conflict has no doubt dulled her senses, even if only a little.

The poison running through her veins begin to bubble beneath her skin and she begins to salivate as deadly liquid begins to fill her mouth. Even the thought of battle is enough for her body to revert away from what it had experienced in the past few days of peace and back into the killing machine she had been. It was her nature, after all.

When she stand back up, her entire body is humming and her senses are sensitive to even the faintest hint of movement. She considers going back to Jiraiya's apartment then decides against it. Instead, she perches herself on the roof of a nearby building and spends the night overlooking the village she wishes she can be a part of.

* * *

Jiraiya picks up his godson, Naruto, from Minato's place in the morning. The boy is the target of the Akatsuki and they had decided yesterday that the boy would be safer with him than Konoha. Any good shinobi would not let go of the chance to use destruction as a cover to sneak in.

"Why so sudden, dattebayo?" Naruto asks. He waves to his parents before he turns back to the Sannin. "I was going to go eat ramen today."

Despite the situation, Jiraiya laughs. "My bad my bad."

Naruto is bright, both appearance and person wise. He will no doubt overwhelm someone like Sakura, but Jiraiya hopes that he will help her, if only a little, to become her own person.

Because he knows, better than anyone, that even if Sakura comes out of her shell little by little, more and more everyday, she is not becoming her own person. She is caged by identity of a killing machine, a tool, and a part of her is allowing herself to remain under the label of property.

He cares for Naruto, he loves his godson, but he is not afraid to admit that a part of this is for Sakura as well. "Ero-Sennin, you listening?" Naruto demands.

"My bad." Jiraiya grins. "We still need to wait for Sasuke. While we do that, I'll introduce you to our other traveling companion first, what do you say?"

* * *

Namikaze Naruto catches sight of a flash of pink near the gates and falters a little when it turns out to be the hair of the most delicate looking girl he has ever seen. Of course, they are still pretty far from the gates and he cannot see any of her features, but he can already tell that she is short and thin.

"Uh, Ero-Sennin-"

"That's Sakura." Jiraiya tells him. He makes a gesture with his hand and Naruto is about to tell him that considering the distance between them and the gates, there is no way the girl would see, but a second later, something brushes his sleeve and he jumps.

He turns around and is met by the most striking pair of eyes he has ever seen.

The bandages covering every inch of her skin only draws out their glow.

"Oh, uh..."

Jiraiya grins and pats the girl on the head. "Sakura, this is Naruto. Naruto, this is Sakura. Be nice to each other, okay?"

"Yes, Jiraiya-sama." Sakura says, without missing a beat.

"Jiraiya-sama? Naruto echoes.

"Hello, Naruto-sama." Sakura says. "My name is Sakura. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Jiraiya winces and Naruto notes the artificiality of Sakura's tone. She manages a small smile, one that seems genuine and slightly nervous, though, so Naruto grins. He does not question the bandages or the slight shaking of her hand as she accepts his handshake after a swift, careful glance at Jiraiya.

"Just call me Naruto." He says. "Nice to meet you, Sakura-chan!"

* * *

The boy is bright.

Sakura can feel his warmth through their linked hands, even through her bandages. His eyes are as clear as the sky and his hair as bright as the sun. There is a sense of purity in the way he grins at her that seems to push her corruption away, even if only for a short while.

The boy is genuinely happy to have met her and she feels she can trust his words. She tightens her grip just a little and feels Naruto does the same. His grin widens.

Naruto is very bright.

* * *

 **Here's chapter eleven~**

 _ **Darque: I was just in Myanmar for Challenge week, which is like a school trip. It was very fun.**_

 **Raven: Oh, good for you.**

 _ **Darque: I got free wifi too.**_

 **Raven:.**

 _ **Darque: My friend bought a sim card but he couldn't get it to work on his android phone so he gave it to me.**_

 **Raven:..**

 _ **Darque: I**_ _ **figured it out, even though I'm android too, and I had free 4G wifi for the entire week.**_

 **Raven:...**

 _ **Darque: Which was very good cause Halloween was during my trip and I got to access all my events and stuff or my games :)**_

 **Raven:...**

 **Read and Review~**


	12. Chapter 11

_**Chapter ELEVEN**_

Jiraiya, Naruto and Sakura make final preparations by the gates as they wait for their final companion. During this time, Naruto rambles on and on about Konoha, his favorite food, and everything in between. He becomes even more enthusiastic when Jiraiya takes pity on an overwhelmed Sakura and tells his god son that Sakura does not know half the places he is talking about, because she has never stayed within the walls of the village for a long time.

"Once we come back, I'll show you to all the fun places." He promises. "We'll go eat ramen then I'll take you to the best prank store in the whole of Konoha! They sell the best paint..."

Sakura simply lets the boy talk, and watches him with something akin to curiosity in her eyes.

Naruto breaks off from his rambling to turn to Jiraiya. "She can, right?" He asks. "I know you're almost always not here, but it'll only be for a few days. I can hang out with her after we come back?"

Jiraiya hesitates, but one glance over at Sakura's wary expression and he nods. "Of course."

Naruto lets out a cheer and grina at Sakura. "Did you hear that?"

Sakura nods but still does not seem like she understood what exactly is going on. Jiraiya laughs at the bewildered expression on her face. It is a good one, one of open wonder and curiosity.

Just as the sun is reaching its highest point, a figure appears in the distance and in mere minutes, their last member is standing beside Naruto, looking a little annoyed.

"I was under the impression we were leaving at noon." Uchiha Sasuke says blankly. He turns to give Sakura a wary glance and Jiraiya notes with both amusement and sadness that the boy must have had plenty of experience with girls crushing on him. Perhaps Sakura's indifference would be good for him.

"We are leaving at noon." He tells the boy. "Right about now." He ruffles Sakura's hair. "Sakura-chan, this is Sasuke." He says. "Sasuke, Sakura-chan."

"Hello, Sasuke-sama." Sakura says. "My name is Sakura. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Jiraiya winces. He really needs to teach Sakura another way to introduce herself. Naruto huffs. "Sakura-chan." He whines. "You said the exactly same thing to me!"

Sasuke eyes the girl for a while longer before he nods. "Uchiha Sasuke. Just Sasuke is fine."

Sakura looks uncomfortable all over again and Jiraiya smiles. "Well then, children, why don't we get going?"

* * *

The moment they step through the gates, Sasuke realizes with irritation that Sakura and Jiraiya are slowing down their pace for him and Naruto. Of course, they are able to set a reasonable pace and they can keep at it, but it is obvious they are struggling just a little, because Kakashi never pushes them this far when setting a casual traveling pace.

When he had been told by the Hokage that he would be accompanying his best friend, one of the Sannin and his compassion to look for Senju Tsunade, he hadn't known what to think. Maybe that he would be glad for something to keep his mind off the destruction of Konoha.

No one had told him the companion would be a girl their age, and his first emotion had been irritation. He had gotten away from the girls of the village, only to be stuck with another during an important mission, one he could not slip away and hide from.

However, it had been relatively surprising when the girl, Sakura, had merely nodded at him like he was someone she had seen on the street and according to Naruto, had reacted the same way with him as she had with the blond.

Not once did the girl glance his way and step towards him or make any indication whatsoever of acknowledging him past their initial introduction. He was used to not only girls, but often people in general wanting his attention, because he was an Uchiha, one of the last of his blood, and if he had to admit it, it was a little putting off to be ignored.

"-and then Tora the cat-" Naruto seems to have no issues with his one sided chatter to the girl, though, and Sasuke leans in a little to see if he can pick up anything from her.

He tells himself he is merely curious.

* * *

When they stop at an inn for the night, Jiraiya orders the three of them to wait in the room while he heads out for food. Naruto loudly complains and Sasuke wordlessly plants himself on one of the beds. Sakura accompanies Jiraiya to the door and the man turns to her the moment they are out of earshot. "You okay, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura blinks but she is no longer surprised the man seems to know whenever something is on her mind. "The Uchiha, Uchiha Sasuke..." She trails off. "He is Itachi-san's younger brother?"

"He is." Jiraiya confirms.

"They look alike." Sakura says. "But they are nothing alike. From what I have gauged, Sasuke-san appears brash and hot headed. Itachi-san is quiet and calculating and overall more pleasant to be around."

Jiraiya chuckles even as Sakura slaps a hand over her mouth in surprise at the burst of honesty. "I-"

"No, Sakura-chan, I'm glad to know what you think. I imagine you've gotten the character traits correct too."

Sakura bit her lip. "I thought siblings were supposed to care for each other, because they are family." She say softly.

Jiraiya places a hand of her head and gently ruffles her hair. "They are." He tells her softly. "Itachi-kun is doing his best. Sasuke-kun just doesn't see it yet."

"Itachi-san hurts." Sakura whispers quietly. "He does not say anything, but he is hurting. I can tell."

* * *

"Apparently, they're looking for Senju Tsunade." Kisame scoffed. "I wonder what made the Hokage think the Jinchuuriki was safe outside the walls."

"Orochimaru launched a full out invasion merely a week or so ago with the aid of another nation that did not even know it's Kage was an imposter." Itachi says. "I believe it is paranoia of those within that drove the Hokage to send away his son."

Kisame shrugs, appearing uncaring for the details. "Well, it's good for us."

"I doubt the Jinchuuriki is unguarded, though." Itachi says. "Do we have information on his companions?"

Kisame nods. "Jiraiya, his pink shadow and a dark haired boy that looks suspiciously like you." His grin melts into a smirk. "I'd say it's your brother. He and the Jinchuuriki are friends, right?"

Itachi feels somethign tighten in his chest, but forces it away.

This will merely be another act of cruelty on top of a countless number of others in order to keep his brother safe. He has committed a thousand of those; another would merely fuel Sasuke to play the part Itachi has laid down long ago

Sakura, to an extent, knows of his position, so he hopes she will understand, or at least try to understand, the tears he is unable to shed as he stands opposite his brother with weapons drawn, eyes glaring red and killing intent flooding from him in waves.

Sasuke is his driving force while Sakura is his anchor. He needs her there, looking at _him_ and not at the skin of the monster he is currently wearing, because sometimes, he fears he will forget and lose himself in the darkness.

* * *

 **Here's chapter eleven~  
**

 _ **Darque: Sasuke, Sakura and Itachi will stand in the same scene next chapter.**_

 **Raven: Probably, cause Darque tends to say stuff like that, and then it takes four chapters to actually get there because something else happens.**

 _ **Darque: Uh, right, yeah. Probably. Mostly definitely.**_

 **Raven: Well, I guess there isn't much you can put in between this and that, so...**

 _ **Darque: Mostly definitely.**_

 **Read and Review~**

* * *

 **Dear Readers,**

 **Happy New Year~ (A little too early, or a little too late, maybe.)**

 **Thank you for everything up to this point, and we hope you continue to support us throughout 2018.**

 **Sincerely,**

 **Darque and Raven.**


	13. Chapter 12

_**Chapter TWELVE**_

Itachi watches the Jounin of Konoha fall one at a time without a hint of expression on his face. Sarutobi Asuma, Yuuhi Kurenai, Hatake Kakashi, his former superior, none of them stand a real chance and he thinks he can be grateful Kisame is interrupted before he can chop them into unfixable bits.

* * *

Sasuke and Naruto sit on their bed, not sure what to do. Sakura is slowly walking around the room, hands running over the walls and the door and the windows and everything else in the room.

"Uh, what're you doing, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asks.

"I am checking for traps, trackers, anything of the sort," Sakura tells him matter-of-factly.

"Oh." Naruto glances nervously over at Sasuke then forces out a laugh. "Heh, I'm kind of getting hungry, I wonder when the Ero-Sennin will be back."

At first, Sakura appeared horrified at the name Naruto had given Jiraiya, and she had actually flinched when Jiraiya had complained, loudly, about it. However, by now, she seems to have accepted that Jiraiya will not retaliate like she seemed to think he would, or had at least gotten used to it. "I'm sorry about that." She says. "However, I doubt Jiraiya-sama will be back for a while. He has most likely gone out for research reasons."

"On Senju Tsunade?" Sasuke asks.

"For his book," Sakura tells him.

"Book?"

"She means he's sneaking around the hot springs and looking for women." Naruto scowls, arms crossed.

Sasuke frowns. "What?"

"The Ero-Sennin is a pervert," Naruto explains. "He peeks on women."

"Jiraiya-sama says it is an important and delicate process," Sakura says weakly. "He says I am not to disturb him during this time."

Naruto decides he likes the girl, because he thinks she is being serious and fully believes what she is saying, and he finds that kind of cute.

* * *

Sasuke is just about to snap, and he can tell Naruto is even closer, when Sakura sits up with a violent jolt. She slowly stands up and moves towards the door. The two boys warily get to their feet.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto calls softly.

Sakura raises a hand to stop him. "Please, stay here, and do not move." Her eyes seem to linger on Sasuke for a little longer than they had on Naruto. "Either of you, no matter what."

By then, the two of them have gauged that something is very wrong.

Sakura has their back to them as she continues her slow walk towards the door. A hand drifts upwards and the bandages that have hidden almost every bit of her skin neatly roll away and are tucked under her collar. Sasuke glances at his friend, but neither of them can see anything clearly. Then she is out of their sight as she rounds the corner. They hear a knock.

* * *

Sakura reaches out with her one bandaged hand, the one she had left so could do just this, and opens the door. She feels a rush of powerful chakra but stays where she is standing. "Hello," She says. Manners were important, Jiraiya had told her.

The huge blue man standing front of her was dressed in a black cloak adorned with red clouds.

 _Hoshigaki Kisame_ , her minds supplies her. _Former shinobi of Kirigakure. Currently an_ _S-class missing nin. A member of the Akatsuki. His partner-_

He is highly skilled if his perfectly concealed chakra is anything to go by.

Sakura glances behind the man to see Itachi, staring at her with eyes just as blank as hers. His face shows no signs of recognition and Sakura carefully slides her gaze back to the man towering over her. "What can I do for you?"

* * *

Kisame is not really sure what to think when a young, pink haired girl glances up at him without flinching. He recognizes her, of course, with her pink hair and her green eyes, as the girl that is always with Jiraiya but from the few times he had caught glimpse of her, he has never seen her without her bandages.

She was a tiny looking girl, someone Sasori would probably enjoy turning into a puppet.

He grins, showing off his teeth, but suddenly, Itachi is in front of him. "Where is the Kyuubi?" He asks. Kisame sighs as his partner, once again, gets straight to the point.

The girl continues to stare at them. "He is not here." She says with a straight face. She attempts to close the door, but Kisame shoots his hand out and stops her from doing so.

"Really?" He asks.

The girl blinks, and her eyes drop to the ground. "I take you do not believe me."

Kisame almost scoffs at the strange girl.

The pinkette raises her hands and the last of the bandages on her person, the ones of her right hand, unfurl and slip away under her clothes. "May I inquire your name?" She asks.

Kisame glances over at his partner, who appears as impassive as ever.

The girl seems to take this as hesitation. "My name is Sakura." She says. She reaches out slowly, casually, as though to shake his hand.

It is only years of experience and honed instincts that saves Kisame his hand. Sakura's hand grabs the part of the door he had been holding onto a mere split second ago and simply appears to evaporate under her touch. The girl lashes out again and both he and Itachi leap backward to avoid what he can now see is literally a lethal touch. The door slams shut and moments later, they see smoke seeping out from the bottom of the door. Kisame stops up to it and gives it a nice shove, but all it does is rattle. "Did she melt the door into the frame?"

Itachi shrugs and delivers a sharp kick to the wood, which instantly shattered beneath his attack. However, behind the door lay a corridors worth of rubble and whatever liquid had melted the ceiling, blocking their path.

"They are gone," Itachi says, without even looking into the room.

* * *

Naruto jumps when there is a crash, as if the ceiling had given way, and Sakura sprints back into the room. "Sakura-chan?"

The girl does not reply as she stops a few meters short of them and waves her hands in a 'get up' gesture. "They are here." She says. "Hurry."

"They?" Sasuke asks, slowly doing as told. "Who?"

"Hoshigaki Kisame," Sakura pauses. "And Uchiha Itachi."

Sasuke is instantly on his feet, eyes wide. "What did you just say."

Sakura raises an arm to stop him, and Naruto freezes when he catches sight of her skin, which appears dry and cracked. "They are here for Naruto-san." She says. "I have been tasked with keeping him alive."

Suddenly, the smell of something melting hits his nose, and Naruto sees smoke rising up from the ground. He glances down to see Sakura's bare feel slowly sinking into the ground. The girl reaches out for him and he instinctively leans away. Sakura does not seem to notice, though, and she gestures towards the window. "Go." She says. "Or I will melt your limbs and carry you."

And Naruto has a distinct feeling she means it. He glances over at Sasuke, who looks frozen and hurt and angry and scared and yanks on his arm. "Come on, Teme." He says quietly. "We shouldn't fight here, anyways. It's an inn, people could get hurt."

Sasuke lets out a growl and yanks his arm out of his grasp, but he does not protest when Sakura ushers them towards the window again.

* * *

 **So, update~**

 _ **Darque: A lot of Naruto characters pissed me off, to be honest.**_

 **Raven: Why all o** **f a** **sudden?**

 _ **Darque: Well, I spent a lot of time wondering if Sasuke should ignore Sakura and Naruto and run off to try and fight Itachi (Not that he could, collapsed ceiling an all, but ya know?).**_

 **Raven: Ahh.**

 _ **Darque: And in the end, I made him not, cause that part of him, among many others, really pissed me off, yeah?**_

 **Raven: Well, that's fanfiction...?**

 _ **Darque: Huehuehuehue.**_

 **Read and Review~**


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